What to do about a local tech reporter who is anti-Apple?

[Will Collier]

C'mon, guys, it's New Orleans. Just bribe the dude. Two dozen at Pascale's every week ought to do it...

[lafinfil]

Isn't being a Windows user punishment enough?

: -)

[SteveO]

He sounds like one of those blowhards who thinks the Iraq war is going great and that we would be greeted there with flowers and hugs. Taunt him relentlessly with Mac propaganda via email and letters. Enlist a local mac users group to help. Eventually he will say something REALLY inaccurate or inane. Start with this:

Gates Vs. GM


For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way
computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the
computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up
with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving
$25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release
stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be
driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this
part):

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........Twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to
buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You
would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows,
shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could
continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause
your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would
have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable,
five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only
five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all
be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal
Operation"warning light.

I love the next one!!!

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out
and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door
handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn
how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate
in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

[karsen]

Don't watch the channel.

[RAMd®d]

I love that Gates vs GM thing, but using that would probably cost the user much credibility, as it failed the Snopes Fine Tooth Comb.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

I would guess he is one of the legion that got burned by Shreve Systems
and is taking it out on all Mac users.

[Silencio]

Some people take pride in being contrary. His way of being a rebel maybe.

How is kissing up to the platform that comprises 90% of the market considered being "contrary" or a "rebel"? It's just petty bullying, and most bullies have very little actual courage.

But in the end, this guy is probably not worth worrying about.

[Jem]

[quote Silencio]How is kissing up to the platform that comprises 90% of the market considered being "contrary" or a "rebel"? It's just petty bullying, and most bullies have very little actual courage.

But in the end, this guy is probably not worth worrying about.
Well I guess I meant that Apple (and its products) have been the darling of media coverage in general for some time, even though it gets short shrift when it comes to corporate IT departments. Coverage of the iPod, iTunes and iPhone have for the most part been glowing... not to mention the occasional good story on OS X or new Macs.

Retail vendors tend to paint a different picture, but I believe that is because they are more familiar with the bulk of PCs they have been selling for years. They simply go with what they know. If 90% of their sales were macs, and a superior PC came out, they would still push Macs. That's the nature of the beast.

But tech reporters ought to be able to distinguish between quality features, and those that are so much fluff. And then extrapolate how that could/should impact consumers, and report on that. This guy sounds like he has his head stuck in the sand.

[Ombligo]

It could be as simple as a PC retailer or maker sending him sample products to use or keep while Apple doesn't.

That happens often in smaller markets and less professional media organizations. new Orleans is the 43rd size TV market in the US, there are 204 stations in larger markets than his.

he's a minor player in a small market and likes freebies.

[Sam3]

His review of the Sansa digs at Apple without even mentioning Apple.

"second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States." -- And who's the first? Maybe somebody doesn't know.

"The player is designed to work seamlessly with a wide range of popular music formats, such as MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA), in both unprotected and protected files." -- wide range??? iPod handles those two as well, just not protected WMA.

"The unit utilizes a non-proprietary digital rights management system that allows users to purchase songs or access subscription download services from specific premium internet sites." -- HAHAHAHA HOHOHO LOLOLOL!!! Non-proprietary???? What a hoot! So it will play "PlaysForSure", Zune, and protectedAAC??? HAHAHA

Get this joker off the air.

Start listening to his pieces and write down every error, whether it's Mac-related or not. Develop a long list, then write management and describe every error that he has made. If he's got a sponsorship, you know, a "this segment is brought to you by..." get a hold of the advertiser and tell them that this yahoo gives out incorrect information and that you'd recommend the advertiser pulls his sponsorship. Money is probably the only thing that managers will understand. Once revenue starts falling because of him, they'll do something about it.